Assessing the quality of consent in elective hip and knee arthroplasty: Do modern orthopaedic surgeons make the cut?

Introduction: Improper consent is a failure of clinical care and also a major cause of litigation within health care authorities. 4% of surgical negligence claims are attributed to improper consenting in the NHS, with an average settlement fee of approximately £40,000 per claim. Improving quality of consenting therefore not only improves patient care but could also reduce healthcare cost.